My Heart Is Touched
by Skylightvoid
Summary: On her way home from a C-Rank mission, Sakura suddenly stumbles across the live and breathing body of a certain redhead. Not knowing what to do, she brings him with her back to Konoha. When Suna refuses to take him back and Tsunade doesn't want to get rid of him just yet... He ends up in Sakura's care? Unbeknownst to them, they'll touch each other's hearts in many different ways.
1. Scroll 0

Hello all! Lately I've been obsessed with Sasori and Sakura, so of course I decided to write about them! This is my first time writing a Naruto fic though, especially since I've been gone from writing for about 2-3 years. So I hopeeeeeee I'm doing things right haha.

This first chapter isn't really a chapter; it's an introduction which explains the shortness of it!

I hope this will be likeable for y'all.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**My Heart Is Touched**

**Scroll 0**

**Discovery**

* * *

"Dattebayo." - Talking.

_'Dattebayo.'_ - Thinking.

* * *

Sakura happily trudged through the forest with not a care in the world as she hummed a random tune that she had heard a few hours ago and had gotten stuck in her head.

Where was she a few hours ago? Tsunade had assigned her an easy, simple C-Rank mission to the neighbouring town because she was the only person that was available at the time, seeing as most of her colleagues weren't to be home till the day after and Tsunade had earnestly insisted that Sakura go instead of a random genin or chuunin because she was more trustworthy. _'Of course she'd ask me to go get her booze for her, that damn drunkard.'_ Sakura rolled her eyes as she shifted her backpack which held Tsunade's many sake bottles.

"I'm definitely going to hide this from her later." She huffed.

The more Sakura walked, the more her legs ached. Even though the town she was forced to visit was the closest town to Konoha, it had taken her about three hours of walking to get there and an additional three hours to walk back home. Thankfully, Tsunade had told her to take her time; there was no need to rush. And because Tsunade had said that, the moment Sakura spotted a clearing she sped up her pace.

"Finally," She cried out, dropping onto the flowery ground. "I needed a break." She groaned, taking off her backpack. She unceremoniously dropped the bag on the ground, not caring about her mentor's sake bottles. _'It's not like they'll break or anything,'_ She inwardly snorted. _'These damn things are like made out of titanium or something.' _

She leaned against the tree behind her and began to massage her calves while humming that same tune from a while ago again. Several moments later, Sakura stopped her ministrations and sighed blistfully. "Mmm, that's better."

Looking up at the sky, she hummed to herself again. "I left at six this morning, got there at nine, stayed around for an hour before I left..." She blinked. "I'm almost home so it should be around one in the afternoon now."

Sakura bent her head side to side, cracking her neck in the process. Then she combed through her waist long pink tresses to get rid of the tangles that accumulated during her walk. Afterwards, she stretched her arms for a good five minutes before settling them down on the ground. However, when her right hand met something soft, her eyebrows furrowed. Sakura looked down and silently gasped. "A hand?"

True enough, it was a hand. A human male's hand. _'A soft, human male's hand.'_ She mused. Almost instantly after that thought, she mentally slapped herself. Sakura's panic-stricken bright green eyes slowly trailed up, from the wrist to the elbow to the shoulder to the neck. Her eyebrows furrowed again when she noticed that her victim had red hair. _'I wonder if it's as soft as it looks.' _She bit her lip. Her eyes continued moving up from the neck to the jawline. _'Mmm... That's a pretty nice jawline...' _Then the lips. _'Ridiculously kissable lips too, oh my god.'_

When Sakura got to the face however, she froze. Her eyes widened a fraction and her jaw went slack. Honestly, it wasn't because the guy was ugly. It really wasn't because of that. It was more like the man in front of her was absolutely drop dead gorgeous and he happened to be someone that she had killed three years prior.

Sitting in front of her and leaning against the same tree that she had been leaning against for the past few minutes, was Akasuna no Sasori. A _sleeping _Akasuna no Sasori.

"Wait a minute," She hissed, her panic becoming even more evident to the eye. Her grip on his hand tightened a bit and she began squeezing his hand several times, her cautious eyes still on the unconcious redhead. _'Soft. His hands are fucking_ soft_.' _

Her eyes snapped downwards to his chest, which was slowly heaving up and down. Slowly, she placed her head on his chest, ear first. _'He's breathing...'_ She thought, listening to the slow and faint beat in his heart.

Sakura's eyes widened again as the focus was back on his face. "He's alive." She whispered, gaping at the unconscious redhead like a deer in headlights. Then, she did the one thing that came to her mind.

She screamed.

* * *

**A/N: **Like I said earlier, this is my first story in the Naruto fandom so please go easy on me. This first chapter is only an intro though, and I guarantee that the upcoming chapters will hopefully be longer than this one!

I don't really have much to say at the moment to be honest; my mind has been empty lately because of the ridiculous summer heat nowadays. So without further ado, leave a review and look forward to the next chapter!

_- skylightvoid_


	2. Scroll 1

Woohoo, the first chapter!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

_Previously_

_Sitting in front of her and leaning against the same tree that she had been leaning against for the past few minutes, was Akasuna no Sasori. A sleeping Akasuna no Sasori._

_"Wait a minute," She hissed, her panic becoming even more evident to the eye. Her grip on his hand tightened a bit and she began squeezing his hand several times, her cautious eyes still on the unconcious redhead. _'Soft. His hands are fucking soft.'

_Her eyes snapped downwards to his chest, which was slowly heaving up and down. Slowly, she placed her head on his chest, ear first. _'He's breathing...'_ She thought, listening to the slow and faint beat in his heart._

_Sakura's eyes widened again as the focus was back on his face. "He's alive." She whispered, gaping at the unconscious redhead like a deer in headlights. Then, she did the one thing that came to her mind._

_She screamed._

* * *

**My Heart Is Touched**

**Scroll 1**

**Conversations**

* * *

"Dattebayo." - Talking.

_'Dattebayo.'_ - Thinking.

* * *

Tsunade's right eye twitched. Several times actually. Seven times to be exact. _'I don't know how I should feel about this right now.'_ Her jaw dropped a tad bit as she stupidly blinked. _'What the hell?'_

Tsunade was absolutely flabberghasted, and that was pretty damn rare in itself. Truth to be told, she had only been flabberghasted at least four times in her life, excluding now.

The first time was when she was ten years old. Tsunade was on her way home after a long day of learning at the academy and her stomach had been aching so very badly. At first, she had thought that she was famished. Then the pain increased and she thought that her bowels were upset and that she had to go to the little girl's room for a potty break. When she got home, she ran to the bathroom and to her surprise, nothing came out of her butt! However, what she did find was a red stain on her underwear which she later identified as blood. Not knowing what to do, she simply told her grandfathers that she was bleeding. Hashirama, being the doting grandfather he was, hysterically shrieked while running around the large household looking for a bandaid. Tobirama on the other hand, was an uptight and bitchy grandfather, and he of course, was throwing furniture around while demanding to know who had injured his precious grandchild. Who would've thought that back in the old days, it only took a menstruating little girl to get two legendary Hokages to scream like banshees and flip some tables around?

The second time was when she was twelve years old. It had been three months since she had graduated from the academy and had become an official genin, with Jiraiya and Orochimaru as her team mates and Hiruzen as her sensei. They were assigned a simple B-Rank mission to guard a nobleman at a very important party. Jiraiya was offered sake by a very beautiful servant woman and had gotten drunk right off the bat. Almost instantly, he had stripped himself of his clothes and decided to drunkenly prance around the hall in his birthday suit. Unfortunately for Tsunade and Orochimaru, who were casually talking to each other about Orochimaru's pet snake, Jiraiya had jumped onto the table in front of them and started to vigorously wave his happysick in their face while screaming, "My pet snake is better than yours!" Thanks to Jiraiya's drunken acts, they couldn't even get one ryo as their payment.

The third time was a year after she had her seat as Hokage. After reading an A-Rank mission scroll, she called for Shizune and demanded for Kakashi to drag his ass in to her office within an hour. Lo and behold, the man had appeared three hours later with his ninken summons, along with the excuse that he was late because he had been walking his dogs around the village. After punching his gut out, she briefed him in on his new mission assignment. While that happened, all of Kakashi's ninken had trudged around her desk and began sniffing her. Naturally, sniffing things was something that all dogs do, so she ignored them. What she didn't expect however, was when all eight of his dogs leaped onto her desk and what did they do? They lifted up one of their hind legs and urinated on her breasts.

The fourth time was a little before Jiraiya's death. They were both drunk as hell and were heading to bed like the secretive married couple they were. All of a sudden, Jiraiya had gotten horny which in turn got her horny as well, so of course the only answer to their problem was sex. He instantly ripped off all of her clothes and had started to slowly and romantically touch around her body. Naturally, she got excited. What really killed her mood however, was when he told her that he wanted to lick her sexy wrinkles.

_'I'm growing old.'_ She thought._ 'I'm really, _really_ growing old.' _

Never in her entire _life_ had she met anyone as _ridiculous_ as her daughter-like apprentice. Sure, the girl was beautiful, smart and talented. She was practically Tsunade's mini-me for god sake. Except she was brighter. Definitely brighter. But really? _Really?_ Sure, she acknowledged the rosette and all, but this was just pushing it.

_'I _really_ don't know how I should feel about this right now.' _Tsunade closed her hazel eyes and slowly counted to ten. When she opened her eyes, a crooked smile creeped onto her face. "Sakura..." She started slowly.

The pinkette standing in front of her nervously bit her lip. "Yes, shishou?"

Tsunade took a deep breath in and lifted her arm up. "What is this?" She asked, pointing to the bed in front of them. "Or rather," The corner of her lips started to twitch. "Who is this?"

"Uhm," Sakura fidgetted with the hem of her sleeves. Her eyes traveled to the bed, where a certain redhead lay. "Well," Her eyes met the floor again. "That's Sasori."

Tsunade's eyebrows twitched again. "And, pray tell," Her crooked smile faltered a little. "Why is he here?"

"Uhm," Sakura coughed. "I... picked him up?"

Amber eyes stared her down. "Why?"

"I don't know," Sakura began to fidget again. "I guess... I guess I couldn't just leave an unconcious and living person by themself in the forest, you know?"

Tsunade sighed exasperately. "Sakura, he's an S-Class criminal." She blankly said. _'I _seriously_ don't know how I should feel about this.'_ She inwardly groaned. Honestly, she didn't even have the heart to yell at the poor pinkette for godsake!

"I know." Sakura groaned. "_I know_. But... I just couldn't leave him!" She started to smack her forehead a few times. "God, I'm such an idiot. I'm such a fucking _idiot_." She groaned again. "Damn my conscience."

"It's fine." Tsunade sighed again. _'I need sake.'_ She wearily looked at the redhead again. "At least we have a wanted criminal in custody. Even though he's supposed to be dead." She muttered under her breath.

Tsunade moved closer to the bed, her eyes scanning over Sasori's body. "It doesn't seem like he's injured." She said. Chakra laced fingers probed around his arms and chest experimentally. "But that doesn't explain why he's still unconscious."

"Mm," Sakura nodded in agreement. "It seems like he's been asleep for quite some time now." She frowned.

"I'll see what I can do to wake him up." Tsunade murmured, eyes focusing on her new patient.

* * *

Several hours later, Tsunade straightened herself up and cracked her neck. "Well," She sighed, "I've gotten the gist of what's happening in his body right now."

She thanked Sakura as the pinkette handed her a cup of water. After taking a few gulps, she continued. "First of all, this body and it's heart is real. Completely authentic." She frowned, "I don't know how, seeing as according to you," Her amber eyes drifted to her apprentice before it landed back on Sasori. "He turned himself into a puppet and you had destroyed the container that held his heart." Tsunade looked at Sakura again. "Am I right?"

Sakura nodded.

"Ignoring those two facts, it seems like a jutsu was cast on him." Tsunade rubbed the back of her neck. "It's my first time seeing it, so I don't have much experience dealing with it. However, when I first started two hours ago, his heart rate was slow. Very slow. " Her eyebrows furrowed. "Right now his heart is working fine, except for the fact that the rate is a little below average speed. His digestive system, immune system, muscular system, nervous system, respiratory system and reproductive systems are working fine now too. Just like his heart however, they're working slower than the norm."

"Regardless," She paused. "We need to tell Gaara."

"Gaara?" Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

"Sasori was originally a ninja serving for Suna," Tsunade explained while she massaged her temples. "He's Gaara's responsibility until said otherwise."

"Ah..." Sakura's eyes went downcast. Her heart tugged at her for some odd reason unknown to her. When she looked up, her eyes landed on the sleeping redhead whom she had supposedly killed three years ago.

"Stay here and keep an eye on him." Tsunade turned on her heel and made her way to the door. "I'm going to send a messenger hawk to Gaara." She left the room, not bothering to hear her apprentice's reply.

Sakura quietly sighed as she sat down on the chair beside the bed. Her tired eyes slowly wandered over the redhead's figure for the umpteenth time that day. _'It's been three years or so,'_ She mused, slowly swinging her legs back and forth.

Three years since she had supposedly killed the man slumbering in front of her. Three years since the Fourth Ninja War, where she saw him again under the Edo Tensei jutsu. Three years since Team 7 had officially reunited, after the redhead had crumbled again. Sakura sat back against her chair and closed her eyes, letting the memories freely flood her mind.

After Madara and Obito had been defeated, Sasuke willingly came back to Konoha with them, obviously with the ridiculous idea of him becoming the Hokage drilled into his head. Naturally, the petty arguements between Naruto and him had become more retarded than ever before. The last survivor had been put under house arrest and probation for an entire year with ANBU operatives watching his every move in case he decided to defect once again.

Sakura giggled as she recalled a memory of him complaining about discovering peeping holes in his bathroom walls.

After the year of house arrest and probation finally passed, Sasuke had been given his forehead protector, deeming him a worthy Konoha ninja again. To his dismay, Tsunade had him assigned to C-Rank and D-Rank missions until the Chuunin exam came.

Sai was as free as ever seeing as Danzo had been killed by Sasuke. Naruto insisted that Sai stay a part of Team 7 since he had no where else to go. Sakura had agreed too. She admitte that despite their differences, he was a true member of Team 7 even though he had originally been assigned as Sasuke's replacement. Not wanting to go back to becoming an ANBU agent, Sai agreed and took up on their offer. Over the course of three years, the older boy became more understanding and easier to talk to after his teammates and the rest of their friends took their time to properly educate him in regards to emotions and whatnot. Sadly, Sai was still as straightforward and rude as ever.

Naruto on the other hand, despite having matured a little bit over the three years, was still the goofball he was since childhood. A few months after the war, Tsunade deemed him worthy enough to become her successor and he was officially named the Rokudaime Hokage Candidate. Sasuke of course, wasn't all too happy when the blond boasted about his newest achievement. However, Naruto's own happiness was destroyed and trampled on when he learned that he had to go through lessons on how to become a proper Hokage, taught by the one and only Tsunade and featuring the cruddy ol' naggy elders.

Kakashi? He was the same as ever.

Sakura however, had probably achieved and had probably changed the most. Shortly after the war, Tsunade had appointed her as the head medic, which also meant that she was to be the director of the hospital, next to her teacher. She was delighted; proud of herself for coming so far. After barking around orders on her first day as director and head medic, Sakura decided that she _really_ liked this job of hers. She liked it way too much.

After Sasuke had obtained his forehead protector, he had asked her out and she happily consented. What all of Konoha didn't expect however, was when the two broke up after several months of dating each other, both claiming that they didn't really feel anything for the other, despite how hard they tried. Knowing that Sasuke wasn't 'the one' saddened her, but she was happy knowing that she would not live in a lie anymore.

Sakura straightened up a bit and smoothed out a crease in her cheongsam dress. She had decided to get an image change, much like everyone else who had hit the age of eighteen a year ago. Sakura's hair grew out again and had now reached her waist, slightly brushing over her butt. Compared to the unruly and fluffy mess her hair was when she was younger, her hair was nicely tamed and slowly thinned out and layered now. Her bangs of course, were short like usual, nicely framing her face.

Instead of picking out an outfit manlier than her clothes she had when she was sixteen, Sakura had decided to be a little bit more... feminine this time. Her red cheongsam dress was much like the one that she wore in her genin days. However, instead of the hem of her dress reaching her knees, this time it reached her ankles. She had also decided to be a bit more daring by having the slit of her dress open up from her hips instead of mid-thigh. That wasn't the daring part though, nope. What was daring was that instead of wearing her usual knee-length shorts, she chose to wear an even shorter version that was hidden by the dress. So short, it could be considered underwear. Feminine enough, yes?

Sakura didn't like the idea of showing too much of her legs though, so she had decided to wear black footless thigh-high socks. In addition to that, instead of her black knee-length combat boots, she settled with a simple pair of black heeled ankle-length boots. She had also bought a pair of long fingerless gloves that stopped between her shoulders and elbows. Of course, they were black too because black goes well with everything!

The pinkette smiled to herself as she remembered the reactions her boys gave, the day after she had bought her things and had worn them for the first time. Naruto's jaw dropped, while Sasuke and Sai's eyebrows skyrocketted. Kakashi? He dropped his book.

"You."

Sakura was ripped away from her reminiscing. She looked up and her bright emerald eyes met with a pair of chocolate brown eyes.

"Sasori!" She gasped.

The puppeteer lazy smirked. "Haruno Sakura." He hoarsely called out.

"You're awake..." She breathed.

"Really now? I never would've thought." Sasori sarcastically retorted. He slowly swallowed his saliva and cleared his throat. "I could've sworn that I was dead." He gruffly said. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. "But I suppose not."

Sakura fidgeted under his hard gaze.

After several minutes of silence, he chuckled lowly. "Who would've thought that the last person I saw before my fall would be the first person I see again when I rise. I'm pretty sure that's a sign." He humorlessly said as he slowly sat up. His muscles screamed at him the more he attempted to move. Sasori bit his lower lip and winced.

Immediately, Sakura was by his side to help him up. "You shouldn't push yourself too much," She chided him, her medic side kicking in. "Your body is in the middle of recuperating after what seemed like years of inactiveness." She drifted off and her eyebrows furrowed, still unsure of how he came to be.  
She mentally shook her head and slowly helped him sit up.

After a few minutes of silence, Sasori chuckled again. "You're curious."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement. A mere fact being pointed out. Sakura looked away and slowly nodded.

"Fine," The corner of his lip curved upwards a little bit. "I'll humor you."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and she snapped her head up to look at him. "You're not exactly in the condition to talk, much less _do_ anything." She glared at him.

"I'm invalid my dear, not mentally retarded." Sasori drawled.

Her emerald eyes narrowed as she stared at him skeptically. "Are you sure? I mean_ really?_"

This time, it was Sasori's turn to glare. "Yes." He hissed.

"But," Her face scrunched up in confusion. "_Why?_"

"Why _not?_" He shot back.

"You're a criminal!" She spluttered. "I can't trust an Akatsuki mem-"

"_Ex_-member." He interrupted.

"Ex-member." She corrected herself. Sakura rolled her eyes and continued. "Regardless, you're still considered a criminal. I can't trust you so easily." She huffed, "Even if I knew the reason why you're willing to tell me, I still wouldn't trust you_ nor_ would I believe anything you say."

Sasori shrugged. "Suit yourself. It's your loss. Who cares about medical knowledge that's possibly forbidden anyways?" He boredly said as he picked the dirt out from under his nails. "Certainly I don't."

Sakura's eyes slowly made their way up his face as she inched closer to him. "Forbidden?" She repeated.

"Forbidden." He confirmed.

Silence.

"Tell me." She demanded.

Sasori smirked. "I thought you didn't want to know?"

The pinkette moved closer to him. "I want to know."

"But you don't trust me." He mocked.

Sakura rolled her eyes again. "Valuable information is valuable, regardless of who's mouth it's coming out of." She added, "Even if it's someone who was found sleeping in a flowery clearing."

"Flowery clearing?" Repeated Sasori. His eyebrows rose. "You found me at a flower clearing?" He paused. "_They dumped me at a flowery clearing?_"

The pinkette nodded. "Pretty much," She shrugged.

Sasori's face scrunched up several times as different emotions displayed themselves on his face. After several minutes, he regained his composure and his usual annoyed expression was back in place. "Aside from that," He impatiently growled. "Do you want to know or not?"

Sakura's eyes lit up and she nodded again.

Sasori leaned back against his pillow and pulled the blanket closer to his chest. Now that he had a human body again, he was much more aware of things like temperature now. _'And hell am I sensitive to it now.'_ He inwardly grumbled.

Sakura on the other hand had decided to sit back down on her seat. Her large green eyes stared at him, waiting for the information that was going to be taken in soon.

"I'm sure you know of Orochimaru, yes?" He dryly asked, reaching over to grab the cup sitting on the nightstand.

Sakura instantly grabbed the pitcher of water and poured the water into his cup. "Yes, but what does Orochimaru have to do with any of this?" She curiously asked, putting the pitcher back into its place.

A voice that wasn't theirs cut in. "Knowing him, he most likely used a forbidden jutsu."

Sasori and Sakura turned their heads in the direction that the voice came from, only to see Tsunade at the door.

"Tsunade-shishou!" Sakura exclaimed.

Tsunade nodded at her apprentice and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Her hazel eyes landed on Sasori. "Am I right?"

"Precisely." The redhead smirked. "As you may already know, Orochimaru and I were partners before he defected the Akatsuki." Sasori's lips twisted into a frown of disgust. "Although it wasn't very pleasant since all he did was conduct experiments revolving around forbidden jutsus. Unfortunately," His lips pursed. "I was used as a guinea pig for one of those experiments."

At that, the eyebrows of both teacher and student in front of him shot up high.

"Let me get straight to the point." He bluntly said, "He tried to clone me."

Silence enveloped the room.

"_What?_" A look of incredulous was plastered on the pinkette's porcelain face. Sakura crossed her arms in defiance. "I knew you were ridiculous but this is just absolutely crazy." She scoffed.

"I'm not ridiculous nor am I crazy." Sasori rolled his eyes.

The stare she gave him told him otherwise.

"I vaguely recall reading a jutsu scroll several decades ago about cells cloning themselves independantly without the constant absorption of the user's chakra. " Tsunade frowned. "If that particular jutsu was used as the base of the forbidden jutsu, it would take more than a couple of years to completely reproduce a human being, seeing as the process is relatively slow."

"May I continue?" Snapped Sasori.

With a nod from the blonde and a shrug from the pinkette, he sighed and started to speak again.

"First of all," He glanced at Tsunade. "Your theory is correct." He continued, "Before I had turned myself into a puppet, Orochimaru took a sample of all the different cells and a sample piece of all the organs in my body. Unfortunately, I did not see what he did with them, nor did I follow through with the process so I don't know if he actually casted a forbidden jutsu on me or not. What I do know however, is that he had casted a jutsu on the sample piece of my brain," He took a sip of water from his cup and cleared his throat. "A jutsu that connected my actual brain to the sample piece of my brain."

"So in other words," Sakura started to catch on. "Things such as memories were transferred to that sample because it was connected to the main organ? That's why you're able to remember everything from the past right?"

"In order words, yes." He chuckled. "Sadly, after he had defected from the organization, Pein decided to throw away the half complete experiment without any idea of what it was." He rolled his eyes. "After all, all of Orochimaru's experiments were done in private. From then on till now, the jutsu has been working on completing my body." He flexed his fingers several times. "Although I'm surprised nothing went wrong since the jutsu was not under any supervision."

Tsunade interrupted him. "What kind of jutsu was used in the overall process?"

Sasori shrugged, "Who knows. Certainly I don't." He placed his empty cup back on the nightstand. "Like I said, I was too busy turning myself into a puppet to pay attention to the experiment from its initial stage."

"What I still don't get is," Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you willingly telling us this?"

Sasori's bored eyes glanced at her. After several minutes of contemplating, he finally replied. "You could say that after my encounter with my successor during the war, I've learned that eternal art does not have to be achieved through evil means." He murmured softly, his gaze still lingering on the pinkette, who in turn also stared back.

"You mean Kankuro?" She curiously asked.

"Aa." He nodded. "But then again," Sasori looked away. "If Suna decides to take me back, I'm as good as dead regardless of what I do, be it good or evil."

Tsunade crossed her arms and smiled, an idea quickly unraveling in her mind after having witnessed the interaction her student had just had with the redhead puppeteer. "We'll see about that."

* * *

**A/N:** Hurray, a long ass first chapter!

Yesterday was my birthday and I just _had_ to finish typing the chapter. I don't know where the motivation came from, but at least I did it!

I'm not really excellent when it comes to describing and going into detail, so I hope everyone's okay with the somewhat fast pace that this chapter had. Really sorry if you'd like more detail but I'm just really, really bad at those so you'll just have to deal with it and move on.

Without further ado, leave a review and look forward to the next chapter!

_- skylightvoid_


	3. Scroll 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

_Previously_

_"So in other words," Sakura started to catch on. "Things such as memories were transferred to that sample because it was connected to the main organ? That's why you're able to remember everything from the past right?"_

_"In order words, yes." He chuckled. "Sadly, after he had defected from the organization, Pein decided to throw away the half complete experiment without any idea of what it was." He rolled his eyes. "After all, all of Orochimaru's experiments were done in private. From then on till now, the jutsu has been working on completing my body." He flexed his fingers several times. "Although I'm surprised nothing went wrong since the jutsu was not under any supervision."_

_Tsunade interrupted him. "What kind of jutsu was used in the overall process?"_

_Sasori shrugged, "Who knows. Certainly I don't." He placed his empty cup back on the nightstand. "Like I said, I was too busy turning myself into a puppet to pay attention to the experiment from its initial stage."_

_"What I still don't get is," Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you willingly telling us this?"_

_Sasori's bored eyes glanced at her. After several minutes of contemplating, he finally replied. "You could say that after my encounter with my successor during the war, I've learned that eternal art does not have to be achieved through evil means." He murmured softly, his gaze still lingering on the pinkette, who in turn also stared back._

_"You mean Kankuro?" She curiously asked._

_"Aa." He nodded. "But then again," Sasori looked away. "If Suna decides to take me back, I'm as good as dead regardless of what I do, be it good or evil."_

_Tsunade crossed her arms and smiled, an idea quickly unraveling in her mind after having witnessed the interaction her student had just had with the redhead puppeteer. "We'll see about that."_

* * *

**My Heart Is Touched**

**Scroll 2**

**Responsibility  
**

* * *

"Dattebayo." — Talking.

_'Dattebayo.' _— Thinking.

* * *

"Gaara-sama."

The young redhead Kazekage looked up from the scroll that was sprawled all over his desk, along with other similar looking scrolls. He had been reading over mission requests and was in the middle of deciding which of his ninjas would be suitable for certain missions. He stared at the female secretary that Temari had hired in case she had been too busy with other things to do secretarial work. "Yes?"

Fuyuka—that was her name—pulled out a scroll from the insides of her sleeves. The woman moved closer to his desk for him to see. "It's a message for you from the Hokage." She said. She bowed her head a little as a sign of respect.

Gaara blinked. "A message from the Hokage?" He curiously asked.

"Yes sir." She nodded.

A small smile made its way onto his pale face. "Thank you Fuyuka." He murmured as he grabbed the scroll from her hands. "You may leave now."

Fuyuka blushed at the tiny yet charming smile that was sent her way. She politely bowed in a ninety degree angle and quickly scampered out of the office.

After the door closed, Gaara snapped apart the red Konoha insignia that sealed the scroll. Upon unfurling the scroll, he was met with a blank and white surface. He gently placed the scroll back down on his desk and pushed himself and his chair a few centimeter away from his desk. His hands speedily went through a series of hand seals for a jutsu that only he and Tsunade knew. By the time he had finished the sequence, a white smoke erupted from the scroll, along with a flurry of lush green leaves. The redhead moved back closer to his desk. "Tsunade-sama sure knows how to make flashy messages." Gaara wryly said to himself. He picked up the scroll again and sure enough, this time there were words written on it.

_"Dear Gaara,_

_We've come a long way together, you and I, as leaders of our respective villages in this magnificent alliance of ours. I've come to acknowledge you as a wonderful young man with many wonderful achievements and capabilities, fitful for a Kazekage. As my colleague and as my friend, I must ask of you to fulfill this request of mine, seeing as you are the only person qualified to do this." _

Gaara started to get suspicious. _'What is this old woman getting at?'_ He thought. "If she wants more sake, I'm not giving it to her." He quietly mumbled under his breath. He continued reading, albeit a bit more cautiously than before.

_"I made a certain bet with my late husband Jiraiya regarding my young and beautiful apprentice Haruno Sakura. She's nineteen years old now and I need to find her a charming young man to be her husband by the time she's twenty-five years old. Now of course, I hate to lose against Jiraiya, dead or not. Despite that—you must understand—I'm an old widowed woman and I want grandchildren before I'm dead and that girl obviously refuses to settle down until she's well over thirty."_

Gaara blinked, his jade eyes staring down at the scroll in confusion. _'Is she asking me to wed Sakura?'_ He asked himself. He sat back against his chair and started to think. Surely, if he were to marry the beautiful pink-headed woman, the relations between Suna and Konoha would be stronger than ever before. _'Unbreakable.'_ He added.

Of course, aside from being beautiful, Sakura was also a very accomplished person. At the fruitful age of sixteen, she was already Konoha's head medic. Despite being Konoha's medic, many other villages happen to seek her out too. Some for more health related issues, and the others for more... violence related issues. The young pinkette already had a bounty on her head in the bingo books, worth more than the bounty on his own head. _'It's only natural that she'd be seen as a threat by the rest of the ninja world.' _He contemplated.

"Aside from that, she's a nice girl too." He mused. "I also heard rumours about her magnificent cooking..." He rested his chin on the palm of his hand and hummed quietly to himself. "She's also a doctor, so naturally she'd be experienced when it comes to infant care..." Plus, they're already friends and have been for quite some time now.

"She'd make a perfect wife." He concluded, slowly nodding along to his verdict. His eyes lazily scanned the scroll, looking for the part that he left off at. Once he found it, he continued to read.

_"My dear daughter-like apprentice has recently stumbled across the very much alive body of your one and only Akasuna no Sasori."_

He choked on his saliva. The redhead instantly sat up straight and pulled the scroll closer to read.

_"I'd like to keep Sasori in Konoha as a resident under arrest and probation. He'll be under the watchful eye of my best ANBU men, along with Sakura herself, who defeated him once before in the past. If he attempts to commit any crimes, he will be instantly killed. Of course, if you want him in Suna with you, that's no problem with me, but I'd prefer to keep him in Konoha for many reasons that I'm sure you are aware of by now. If you agree with my decisions, please write a short and discrete letter back along with any other condition(s) that you want in regards to Sasori. __Decisions in the future will be carefully made by me_ and I guarantee you that you will like what I will have planned out.

_- Tsunade. "_

Gaara suddenly felt exhausted and very, very confused. He honestly didn't know what to say! He slumped back against his chair and sighed. The young redhead closed his eyes and began to massage his temple. A few minutes later, he heard the door to his office open, along with a familiar chakra signature. '_Just the person I need.'_ He snapped his eyes open and straightened his back again. "Kankuro."

The puppeteer closed the door behind him and waved at the redhead. "What's up lil' bro?" He cheerfully asked. "I brought lunch." The tall man walked over to the redhead and placed a bento box on the table ontop of the mission scrolls. When he sat down on one of the two chairs situated in front of Gaara's desk, he noticed the green leaves on the floor. Kankuro's eyebrows slowly rose up as he eyed the scroll in Gaara's hands. "A message from the Hokage?"

Gaara sighed again and slumped.

Kankuro frowned, concern written all over his face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm confused." The younger of the duo said honestly. "I'm really confused."

Kankuro's eyebrows shot up again. "Confused?" He chuckled and leaned closer. "About what?"

Gaara handed the scroll over to his older brother, who gladly accepted it. Once the scroll was out of his hands, he grabbed his bento and chopsticks and sat back against his chair. _'Rice and salted squid again.'_ He sulked. _'I should ask Temari to make my lunches instead.' _He quietly sighed for the umpteenth time and began to swallow down the lunch his brother made him. As he ate, Gaara watched his brother's facial expressions as the older read over the scroll.

Kankuro looked up from the scroll a few minutes later, completely flabberghasted. "She's practically planning to wed Sakura-chan to a killer," He yelled, "She's fucking crazy!"

Gaara sinked further into his seat and nodded. "That's what I thought." He mumbled quietly.

"Wow," Kankuro shook his head in disbelief and placed the scroll down on the desk. The puppeteer crossed his arms and sat back. "Who would've thought that she'd ask you for permission to house an S-Class criminal of ours." He whistled lowly.

"That's what I thought too." The redhead chewed on the tip of his chopsticks.

Kankuro blinked. "So then what are you so confused about?" He curiously asked.

Gaara's lips pursed as he removed the chopsticks from his mouth and he closed his eyes. He sunk into his chair a little more and if possible, he hoped to disappear in his chair. Given his pride, he really didn't want to tell his brother about his naive thoughts about a certain pinkette, much less his disappointment after reading the last part of the letter.

Kankuro's eyes squinted as he stared hard at his little brother. A few minutes later, his eyes widened. "Is it because you thought that Tsunade-sama was asking you to marry Sakura-chan?"

Gaara scowled in annoyance.

Quietly, Kankuro chuckled. Seconds later, his chuckle escalated to full blown laughter.

"Stop it," Hissed Gaara, a light tint of red apparent on his cheeks. If he wasn't embarrassed earlier, he was now. When the brunette didn't show signs of stopping his hysterical laughing, Gaara crossed his arms. "Stop laughing!" He demanded.

"Sorry," Kankuro breathed heavily, his chest heaving up and down. He chuckled and wiped the corner of his eyes. "So sorry."

Gaara glared at his brother.

The puppeteer instantly straightened himself up and lifted his hands up in defense. Kankuro cleared his throat. "Really though," He chuckled again. "It's fine to have thoughts like that. No need to be shy lil' bro. It just means you're growing up!" He cheekily grinned.

"What thoughts?"

The two brothers craned their necks to look at the only door in Gaara's office, only to see their older sister close said door behind her.

"What thoughts?" Temari repeated, eyebrows raised. Her teal eyes narrowed as she eyed Kankuro. "I hope you're not feeding Gaara anything _dirty _and _perverted_." She growled.

Immediately, Gaara glared at Kankuro. _'If you tell her, I will kill you.'_

At that, Kankuro nervously chuckled. "Of course not, sis. I'd never feed Gaara anything dirty and perverted." He glanced at the redhead. "Right lil' bro?"

Gaara ceased his glaring and blinked several times before vigorously nodding to support his brother's excuse.

Temari relaxed and she nodded in approval. "Good."

When she noticed the green leaves laying around on the floor_—_which were obviously rare in a desert_—_along with an open scroll ontop of several other scrolls on the desk, she had to ask: "A message from the Hokage?"

Gaara sighed and Kankuro's shoulders sagged a bit.

Temari blinked. "What's wrong?" She curiously asked.

Seeing as the youngest of the three didn't want to speak anymore, Kankuro took the initiative. "Gaara's sad and I'm_-_Ow!" He lifted his leg and cradled it close to his body. "Why'd you kick me for?" He whimpered.

Gaara simply glared again as he chewed on his cold salted squid.

"Anyways," Huffed Kankuro. "Gaara and I are confused and we don't know what to do."

Deciding not to question their odd behavior, Temari rolled her eyes and sat down on the chair beside Kankuro. "Let me see," She mumbled. She grabbed the scroll off Gaara's desk and began to read its contents. When she was done, she simply placed the scroll back down on the desk and stared at her two brothers, obviously speechless due to the way her mouth was opening and closing like a fish.

"What should we do?" Kankuro slowly asked.

"Well," Temari tilted her head. "We should carefully think this out, although I think the answer is pretty obvious."

"It is?" Echoed Gaara and Kankuro.

Temari nodded, "It is."

"We're going to take him back?" Questioned Kankuro.

"Nope." Temari shook her head.

"We're going to let them keep him?" Gaara frowned. "Why?"

Temari propped her elbows on her knees and her face on the palm of her hands. "We should obviously take him back since he's our responsibility, yes, but we also owe a lot to Konoha, especially Sakura-chan." She reminded them, "She helped save both my little brothers' lives and I'm especially grateful for that. Do you get where I'm going here?" She sat up straight and eyed them. "I'm indebted to them. _We're_ indebted to them, which means _all of Suna_ is indebted to them."

The brothers were silenced, obviously not going to argue back against her reasons.

"You're right," Gaara slowly said. "The least we could do is heed her request, yes?"

Temari smiled and reached over to pat the younger's red fluff of hair. "'Atta boy. You're growing up!" She cooed.

Gaara nodded and returned the smile.

Kankuro chuckled, "Ebizo-jii-sama's gonna get a heart attack when he hears this."

* * *

Sakura stood in front of the large double doors leading to Tsunade's office. She had been working in her office at the hospital all morning long, when one of her teacher's ANBU operatives appeared at her door, claiming that said teacher had summoned her to speak about the redhead that she had picked up three days prior. After hearing that, she had thrown down her pen and instantly bolted out the door.

Sakura bit her lower lip. Her hand reached up to grab the handle and lightly, she pushed the door open. When she stepped into the office, she was met with a smiling and expectant Tsunade. Sitting in front of her, was a bored looking Sasori, who's attention was out the window while he aimlessly fiddled with an odd looking bracelet on his wrist. Slowly, she closed the door behind her.

"You called for me shishou?" She hesitantly asked.

Tsunade nodded, her smile not faltering. "Sit down Sakura." She motioned to the seat beside Sasori. "We have a lot to talk about."

Sakura sat down and tried to make herself comfortable while sparing quick glances at the puppeteer. When he turned his head to look at her and their eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze. Sasori quietly chortled under his breath and smirked. He crossed his arms and leaned further into his seat. "So, old granny," He drawled out. "I'm pretty sure that this 'talk' concerns me, no?"

The corner of Tsunade's lip twitched but she kept her smile in place. "That's right."

"But then why am I here?" Asked a confused Sakura.

"Because this concerns you too." Tsunade said. She grabbed a scroll that was laying around on her desk and lifted it up for them to see. "A message from Suna arrived this morning."

Sakura perked up, "From Gaara?"

A small frown crept its way onto Sasori's face, which didn't go unnoticed by the Hokage. Tsunade handed the scroll over to Sakura, who gladly accepted it. "Read it out loud." She gently urged.

Sakura blinked and quickly unrolled the scroll.

_"Dear Tsunade-sama,_

_After much thinking and consideration, I have finally come to a conclusion. At the moment, Suna has no need for Akasuna no Sasori, therefore you may keep him in custody within Konoha walls until said otherwise. It is up to you to decide what will be done with him, now and in the future. However, I do have some conditions:_

_1. He is to not come near Suna within fifty kilometres until further notice."_

"As if I'd ever go near that place." Scoffed Sasori, his attention on the large tree branch near the window.

_"2. If he were to come near Suna within fifty kilometres without either of our permissions, he will be killed on the spot by my hunter-nins and his remains will be sent to you in a garbage bag."_

Sasori instantly turned his head to look at the pinkette, his neck cracking in the process. "Excuse me?" He incredulously asked. "_Garbage?_"

Sakura rolled her eyes and continued to read.

_"3. I expect reports of him every month._

_He is your responsibility and I do hope that no trouble will arise. _

_- Gaara."_

"I'm not a dog." The redhead muttered indignantly, eyebrows knitting.

Sakura rolled up the scroll and gave it back to Tsunade. "So," She slowly repeated her earlier question. "What does this have to do with me?"

Tsunade's smile widened. "You will look after Sasori." She simply said.

Silence.

Slowly, Sasori's eyes widened and Sakura's jaw dropped. "What?" They hissed.

"You heard me," Glared the blonde woman. "This is an order." She continued, "You two are to live under the same roof." She looked at the puppeteer. "Sasori is to be under house arrest under watchful eyes and he can't go outside," She looked at her student, "Unless Sakura is with him or until he can be deemed trustworthy to walk around by himself."

"Those are my conditions for now," She smiled again. "Of course, I will have more for you in the future. Am I clear?"

"But," Sakura spluttered, "This is all so sudden! What about missions?!"

"Oh," Tsunade's smile widened. "I'm taking you off the roster. After all, you need to focus on your work at the hospital, yes?"

Sakura's shoulders slumped as she openly stared at her teacher with wide eyes. "But-"

"Excuse me," Sasori butted in, obviously annoyed. "But don't I have a say in this? Mind you, I'm technically in my mid-thirties, and therefore I'm an adult with the ability to make my own choices." He hotly bit out.

"Why should you?" Tsunade casually waved her hand back and forth. "You're my responsibility and _therefore_ you should do what I say." She noncholantly said. "Besides, you're in a twenty-year-old body, so _technically_ you're twenty years old with the mind of a thirty-something year old geezer. Appreciate your youth, why don't you." She grinned, folding her hands underneath her chin.

He crossed his arms and glared at her._ 'I oughta poison you.'_

"Don't think about doing anything funny now, buster." She motioned to the black bracelet on his right wrist. "That bracelet is a tracker and you can't get it off without my chakra. Not only that, but if you step past Konoha's walls, you'll get knocked out by a fatal lightening jutsu that's implimented into the bracelet. Since you're a human now, I won't guarantee any light injuries. Everything else will be handled by my personal ANBU squad."

Sasori looked down at the bracelet, slightly disturbed. "So that's what this is..." He mumbled.

"Wait! What about me?" Sakura frantically asked, her hand on her chest. "Don't _I_ get a say in this?"

"Who's the one that picked him up, huh?" Tsunade shot back.

Immediately, Sakura's hand dropped and she timidly bowed her head. _'She makes a good point.'_ The pinkette winced.

"Now get out of my office." She glared at them both, her hands reaching for a sake bottle under her desk. When neither of the two adolescents showed signs of moving, her eyebrows twitched. _"Now!"_ She barked.

Sakura quickly got up and shuffled out the door, a grumbling Sasori right behind her in a more lazy pace. Sakura closed the door behind them when they were both completely out of the office and quietly sighed. "Well," She wearily looked up to meet his eyes. "I guess we don't have a choice, do we?" She nervously laughed.

He gave her a pointed look. "You think?" He mentally groaned, _'I give up on trying to argue with anyone today.'_

They stood in the corridor in silence, obviously not knowing what to do next.

After a few minutes of chewing on her lip, Sakura began to nervously twirl a lock of her hair. "So uhm," She voiced, "What do you want to eat for dinner?"

At that, Sasori's brow rose. "Frankly speaking," He sighed. "I don't really care at the moment. Just cook something good and I won't complain."

Slowly, Sakura nodded. "Okay." She smiled. She turned on her heel and made her way down the hallway to the flight of stairs leading to their exit. Without a word, Sasori followed her.

The two walked down the bustling streets together in peace. As they walked, Sakura started to think about dishes that she could cook for dinner. As they walked, Sasori began to observe his surroundings. From the corner of his eye, he watched as the citizens happily interacted with each other. Then, after a bit of more walking, he saw a park full of children jumping around in excitement and glee. The puppeteer stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at the pinkette, who was walking beside him and was still engrossed in her thoughts. _'This is... Quite pleasant.'_ He mused. Seconds later, Sasori was pulled out of his thoughts when something—or rather someone—collide into his legs.

Noticing that her charge had stopped walking, Sakura turned around to look at him. She blinked several times and giggled.

Sasori frowned as he watched the little girl detach herself from his legs. "Sorry mister," She mumbled. She rubbed her forehead and looked up to shyly smile at him. "I didn't mean to bump into you." She sheepishly said.

Sasori blinked several times, unsure of what to do. It had been a long time since he'd come in contact with children without the intention to kill. "Uh," He looked at Sakura, who shrugged and giggled again. "It's okay... I guess?" He awkwardly patted the child's head. "Just be careful next time." He added.

The little girl nodded before politely bowing and running off to her friends.

When the girl was out of side, Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "Let's go."

"Where?" He stupidly asked.

"To the supermarket." Sakura warmly smiled at him. "I rarely cook for anyone other than myself and there aren't many ingredients at home either. If I had known that you would move in with me, I would've doubled up on everything already." She joked.

"I see." He mumbled, his eyes on his hand which held the pinkette's warm hand. His chocolate brown eyes made their way up her arm and landed on her face. As they walked, Sakura started to think about the ingredients that she would have to buy for their dinner. As they walked, Sasori observed her. He watched the way the late afternoon sunlight hit her pale face and illuminated her face considerably, along with the way her thoughtful eyes brightened up occasionally while her soft pink lips curved into a smile. His eyes trailed away from her face and began to look at her other features, such as her height. _'She's a head shorter than me.'_ He inwardly chuckled. He really had to wonder: How can such a tiny girl hold so much power? Pushing that aside, he noticed her pink tresses and finally got a good look at it. _'Her hair grew longer.'_ He noted. _'Very long.'_

"Ah," She sounded out as they stopped in front of the local supermarket. "We're here." Without another word, she pulled him inside of the market.

"So," Sasori awkwardly scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "What are you going to make for dinner?" He cautiously asked.

Sakura let go of his hand and used both of her hands to lift a shopping basket up and away from the cluster of attached baskets. "Mmm," She hummed, "How does steamed rice, grilled chicken, and stir-fried tofu and vegetables sound to you?"

At that, Sasori's stomach started to grumble a little. Instantly, he crossed his arms and looked away. "It better be good." He mumbled.

Sakura hung the basket around her forearm. "Of course," She beamed. The pinkette turned and sauntered away to look for the ingredients. After patting his poor stomach several times, Sasori stalked after her.

"Do you like fruits?" She casually asked as they walked around.

Sasori's eyebrow arched. "I guess. Why?"

"Fruits are best eaten in the morning, either by themselves or with extras like yogurt." She chided. "They're healthy and energizing. With that body of yours, you need all the fruits you can get to keep your body healthy and energized." She added with a wag of her finger, "With freedom comes responsibility."

"I suppose so," He droned. "Although I wouldn't exactly call this freedom, being kept on a leash and all."

Ignoring his snarky side comment, she continued on. "What's your favorite fruit?" She asked. "Of course, I'm going to buy a variety of fruits but I'll buy a lot of your favorite fruit just so that the process will be tolerable for you."

"Apples." He surmised. "The red ones, not the green ones." Sasori's face scrunched up in disdain. "The green ones are too sour for my liking."

Sakura smiled, "Alright. We'll pick some after getting our ingredients for tonight's dinner."

He nodded in agreement.

"Since we're on the topic of food," Sakura continued, "What kind of food do you like? Dislike?"

He blinked. "Why?"

She gave him a look. "If you're going to live with me, isn't it best that I know what you like and don't like so that mishaps won't happen?"

Sasori shrugged. "I'm a very tolerable person," He lazily said. "I don't particularly have any dishes that I like or dislike. Just make me something good and I'll eat it."

"Huh," The pinkette chuckled a little. "Makes things easier for me."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Mind you, if your food turns out to be horrible, then I'm ordering takeout. Every. Single. Night." He drawled out.

Sakura haughtily huffed. "We'll see about that."

* * *

**A/N:** Yay, the second chapter! It took a while, but I did it!

First of all, Tsunade is a scheming sonuvagun. Does anyone else agree with me?

Second, isn't Gaara so cute for having those naive thoughts? I'm sorry if some of you thought that he was a little OCC though, but he's an adult now so therefore he should have adult-worthy thoughts too.

Third, does Sasori seem a little OCC too? I don't know, I'm starting to doubt myself. Regardless, I like the way I portrayed him: lazy, sarcastic, and blunt. _Exactly just like me omg._

Lastly, I'd like to share with everyone a fanart that **Raika-chan **made for this story a few days ago! I'm totally in love with it, even if it's just a simple drawing of Sakura. Go check it out at my profile!

Anyways, leave a review, favorite or follow, and look forward to the next chapter!

- _skylightvoid_


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